With the fans dressed in pink at Hearnes Center for Breast Cancer Awareness Night, Missouri volleyball gave the home crowd plenty to cheer about on Wednesday night. The Tigers delivered in sweeping fashion, defeating the Bulldogs (25-13, 25-21, 25-23) in a display of balanced offensive firepower, smothering blocks and clutch replay challenges.
“I thought we were really, really relentless defensively, and got after it on our offense,” head coach Dawn Sullivan said post-game. “What a good cause to come out here and play for, just bring some awareness to so many people that struggle with cancer.”
Mizzou finished the night with a total of 47 kills, a .353 hitting percentage and 48 digs backed by 14 kills from Paige Felder and 16 digs from Ainoah Cruz. The Bulldogs were forced into a hitting percentage of .152%, with just 33 kills and 40 digs.
Tigers Opening Set Success
Mizzou set the tone early with physical net play and flawless pin hitting. Kimani Johnson got the Tigers on the board immediately with an opening-point kill, followed shortly by strong net finishes from Paige Felder and Grace O’Reilly. Complementing the front row, Felder added a service ace to jump out to a fast 4-1 lead.
Back-to-back Mississippi State net violations stretched Mizzou’s lead to 7-3, forcing the Bulldogs into an early scramble. When Mississippi State tried to push back to trim the deficit to 7-6, Lydia Stahley answered with a kill down the line. Soon after, libero Ainoah Cruz made a huge dig to keep a chaotic play alive, allowing Johnson a massive kill to make it 9-6. Johnson immediately doubled down on the next point, hammering home back-to-back kills to extend the lead to 10-6.
A Mississippi State timeout at 12-7 wasn’t enough, as Felder hammered an assist from Zoey Matias-Lopez out of the break, and a string of Bulldogs hitting errors quickly blew the frame open to 18-9. Mizzou launched a successful video challenge that overturned a line call to award the Tigers the point and make it 19-9.
Through those nineteen points, Mizzou held the Bulldogs to a -.037 hitting percentage while the Tigers posted a blistering .412 clip. Additional kills from Stahley and O’Reilly, followed by a kill from Cruz, brought up the set point before a final Bulldogs attack error capped the 25-13 opening set victory.
Grinding out the Counterpunch
Mizzou jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in Set 2 behind consecutive kills from Paige Felder and Eva Smith. After a pair of exchange points, Lauren Larkin stepped up with a sharp kill to push the lead to 4-1. Mississippi State showed resilience, keeping the set within striking distance, but the Tigers consistently answered. Grace O’Reilly hammered down a kill to extend the cushion to 9-5 before the Bulldogs strung together a 3-0 run, capped by a service ace and closing in the set at 9-9.
O’Reilly answered with a clutch kill off the block, and scoring plays from Smith and a service ace from Lopez forced a Bulldogs timeout at 13-10. Out of the media timeout at 15-13, O’Reilly and Felder kept the pressure on with clutch kills to push Mizzou ahead 18-14, prompting another Mississippi State timeout.
After Mizzou built a 21-17 lead behind swings from Stahley and Johnson, Mississippi State won a video challenge to trim the gap, but Johnson and Eva Smith answered with a massive double block to spark the final push. Paige Felder and Lauren Larkin then took over at the net, with Larkin hammering home the set-point kill to wrap up a 25-21 win and give the Tigers a 2-0 lead.
The Comeback Finish
Mizzou stormed out to a 5-0 lead behind back-to-back Felder kills, forcing an early Mississippi State timeout up 12-5. However, the Bulldogs staged a furious 6-0 run mid-set, capitalizing on Mizzou attacking errors and a series of net violations to take a 20-19 lead.
After an error from Claire Morrissey, the Tigers used one of their timeouts. Out of the break, Larkin’s kill started a back-and-forth kill streak between the two teams, until Smith’s kill was challenged by the Bulldogs and not overturned, just before Johnson claimed her 10th kill of the night to finish the set with a 25-23 victory.
“The first ball I knew I wasn’t probably going to be able to score, so I said my best bet is to get them out of system, put their right side on the ground, and I did that succesfully,” Johnson said. “And then once they set the free ball around I said I need it, I need it now.”
By the Numbers
Felder led the team with a high of 14 kills and a .379 hitting percentage. Alongside her Johnson claimed 10 kills with a .444 hitting percentage and two blocks. Nina Mandovic led the way as setter with 22 assists and seven digs, while Cruz finished with a high of 16 digs. Lastly, Stahley finished with seven kills and four blocks.
What’s Next
The Tigers moved to 10-8 overall and 3-3 in conference play, building serious momentum before returning to Hearnes to host Alabama at 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 18, as they celebrate Senior Day.